1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cable connection crimping equipment and, more particularly, is concerned with a cable connection crimping machine operable in a repetitive one at a time manner to bring connectors into alignment with ends of cables, such as coaxial cables, apply and crimp connectors onto cable ends to form substantially uniformly sealed round connections with the cable ends, and eject cable ends with connectors thereon from the machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For many years it had been accepted practice in the television industry to employ a hand-held crimping tool to attach a standard fitting onto the end of a coaxial cable which could then be threadably connected into a mated fitting or terminal on a television set. The crimping tool was designed to crimp or reduce the size of a connector sleeve on the cable side of the fitting into a generally hexagonal configuration in attaching the fitting to the end of the cable. A major problem with the hexagonal crimp, however, was that it did not completely seal off the end of the cable and permitted air and moisture to enter by way of the cable end which may affect the quality of the television picture and gradually erode the cable itself.
One solution to the aforementioned problem was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,864 to Tarpill wherein a crimping tool was disclosed that could compress a fitting into a generally circular configuration onto the cable end by applying a radially directed force to the fitting that uniformity and simultaneously reduced in diameter the axial length of the connector sleeve of the fitting. Other prior art patents of interest are U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,599 to Burns, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,174 to Paolino, U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,219 to Grundfest, U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,833 to Lapp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,068 to Sato, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,780 to Battenfeld, U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,928 to Davis et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,384 to Baillet et al.
More recently, another solution to the aforementioned problem has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,508 to Holliday et al wherein a crimping tool was disclosed that could compress the connector sleeve of the fitting into a generally circular configuration onto the cable end by applying an axially directed force, as opposed to direct radial compression, to the fitting that uniformly but progressively reduced in diameter the axial length of the connector sleeve. In that way, the die members used in the crimping operation having tapered die surfaces of circular configuration may remain stationary during the crimping operation and can be formed to extremely close tolerances while achieving the necessary crimping force to assure uniform sealed engagement of the with the cable end.
The approach of the Holliday et al crimping tool has experienced significant commercial acceptance in the industry as demonstrated by its growing share of the commercial market for such tools. However, the implementation of the Holliday et al approach is as a hand-held tool primarily used by field service workers making cable connections in the field as opposed to making such connections at cable manufacturing and/or assembling facilities. The inventor herein (who is a co-inventor of the Holliday et al crimping tool) has perceived that a different approach is needed to make cable connections that are still comparable in quality to those made by the Holliday et al tool but made on a high speed automated basis in cable manufacturing and/or assembling facilities. Prior art patents of interest are U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,445 to Wise, U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,323 to Pence et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,717 to Yuda, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,337 to Yamaguti t al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,476 to Over et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,762 to Gobeil, U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,855 to Eaton et al, 4,890,384 to Shaffer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,191 to Schule, U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,566 to Long and U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,996 to Strong et al. None of these devices appear to provide a desired solution to the problem of how to automate cable connections.
Consequently, a need still exists for a machine for making crimped cable connections on a high speed automated basis adapted for use on cable assembly lines.